WhatsApp India Chief Says Will Do More to Limit Viral Content

WhatsApp has taken several measures to limit the spread of misinformation and fake news on its platform in India but there is more to do to fully secure the platform, the company's India head Abhijit Bose said on Wednesday.

In his first statement after taking over as head of India operations of the Facebook-owned messaging platform early this year, Bose said the company strongly believes that private messaging is fundamental to safety.

"We're pleased that the recent changes we've made to limit viral content and educate users is having an impact. This work is never done - there is more that we can and will do," noted Bose who is hiring the first full country team outside of California which will be based in Gurugram.

"I am going to be listening closely and learning in the months to come, and I look forward to working with stakeholders here in India on our common safety goals," added Bose.

With over 200 million monthly active users, India is WhatsApp's biggest market in the world. Globally, the platform has over 1.5 billion users.

Facing flak from the government over dozens of lynching incidents in the country last year which were linked to rumours spread on WhatsApp, the Facebook-owned messaging service introduced several new measures, including limiting the number of messages that a user can forward to five and appointing a grievance officer for the country.

"One of the most exciting features we're building is WhatsApp Payments. Leveraging services from the 'India Stack' such as UPI (Unified Payments Interface), we're making it possible for people to easily transfer money to each other or their favourite merchants," informed Bose.

WhatsApp Payments, stuck owing to India's demand to store data locally, has not gone beyond the beta testing it did with nearly one million users last year.

"When opened up to WhatsApp users across India, Payments will accelerate financial inclusion and remove barriers for people who want to actively participate in the new digital economy," Bose noted.

A recent WhatsApp research has revealed that 70 percent of small businesses have built their business on the platform and 77 percent said they have been able to hire more employees due to growth since joining WhatsApp.

"I'm excited about what the future holds for India and humbled by the potential WhatsApp has to help hundreds of millions of people and businesses across the country connect and prosper," said Bose.